Financial and business services

The City of London is the world's largest financial centre alongside New York

This industry added gross value of £86,145 million to the UK economy in 2004.^[73] The UK's exports of financial and business services make a significant positive contribution towards the country's balance of payments.

London is a major centre for international business and commerce and is one of the three "command centres" of the global economy (alongside New York City and Tokyo).^{[20][22][102][103]} There are over 500 banks with offices in London, and it is the leading international centre for banking, insurance, Eurobonds, foreign exchange trading and energy futures. London's financial services industry is primarily based in the City of London and Canary Wharf. The City houses the London Stock Exchange, the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange, the London Metal Exchange, Lloyds of London, and the Bank of England. Canary Wharf began development in the 1980s and is now home to major financial institutions such as Barclays Bank, Citigroup and HSBC, as well as the UK Financial Services Authority) London is also a major centre for other business and professional services, and four of the six largest law firms in the world are headquartered there.^[106]

Several other major UK cities have large financial sectors and related services. Edinburgh has one of the large financial centres in Europe and is home to the headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Standard Life. Leeds is now the UK's largest centre for business and financial services outside London, and the largest centre for legal services in the UK after London.

Hotels and restaurants

The Blue Book 2006 reports that this industry added gross value of £33,074 million to the UK economy in 2004.^[73]

Other social and personal services

This sector includes value added by private households with employees and extraterritorial organisations. The Blue Book 2006 reports that this sector added gross value of £55,543 million to the UK economy in 2004.^[73]

Public administration and defence

The Blue Book 2006 reports that this sector added gross value of £55,280 million to the UK economy in 2004.^[73]

Real estate and renting activities

MediaCityUK in Salford, Greater Manchester – an example of real estate activity

The real estate and renting activities sector includes the letting of dwellings and other related business support activities. The Blue Book 2006 reports that the lettings industry added gross value of £83,037 million to the UK economy in 2004 while other real estate and business support activities added gross value of £175,333 million.^[73] Notable real estate companies in the United Kingdom include British Land and The Peel Group.

The UK property market boomed for the seven years up to 2008 and in some areas property trebled in value over that period. The increase in property prices had a number of causes: low interest rates, credit growth, economic growth, rapid growth in buy to-let property investment, foreign property investment in London and planning restrictions on the supply of new housing.